Commensal E. coli transfer antibiotic resistant genes rapidly to human intestinal microbiota in the Mucosal simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (M-SHIME)

The implications for human health of consumption of antibiotic resistant bacteria are unknown, since dose-response data on resistance transfer and spreading in our gut is lacking. In this study, transfer of a resistance plasmid, harboring several antibiotic resistance genes, from a commensal E. coli originating from a broiler chicken towards the human intestinal microbiota was assessed by using an M-SHIME (Mucosal-Simulator of the Human Intestinal Ecosystem).